Parker Time Capsule

[Brush Buster]

Donald Healey ,tried to correct the problem with aluminum surrounds ,but the front was still " barrel heavy " !

[Kevin McCormack]

Hmmmm...Jag with a Corvette motor....ever hear of a Lister Corvette? They used to race them near here at the Marlboro Motor Speedway in the late 1950s-early '60s. Once a month beginning in April the NSCCA would have qualifying races for mostly (then) amatuer drivers who could race anything they could keep on the track. Roger Penske would drive down from Media PA with a snappy little Porsche 550 on a trailer, and another guy from Bala Cynwyd PA would drive down a Ferrari California, change the rear end in the pits, race it all weekend, and change out the rear for the trip home on Sunday evening. A local dentist, Dick Thompson, was a Corvette fanatic and showed up one weekend with a Lister Corvette - sort of a cross between an Allard and an AC Bristol body with beefed up suspension and a massive 427 Corvette engine. Guys like Penske and the Ferrari driver would always beat Thompson into the corners, cutting inside him at the last minute and diving into the turns to overtake him. When they came out of the corners, nothing could stay with that Lister Corvette - the acceleration was something you had to see to believe. Best times were the late Fall semi-final races - nothing like coming home to homework on Sunday evening reeking of Castrol and burnt rubber! Those were the days - Now its Hoppes No.9 and burnt 700X - not a bad trade!

PS - The guy at the head of the block just put his 1954 Corvette roadster out in the front yard with a big "4 Sale" sign on it. Completely restored to new. Asking $68K for it -hell, you can't even buy a AAHE 28 ga. for that kind of money!! (Well, maybe a nice Del Grego restoration.....).

[Autumn Daze]

Thanks Kevin. A 54 Corvette! That would have the "Blue Flame 6 cylinder in it. With three carbs and I think a three speed trans.They didn,t come out with the 265 V-8 until 55. What a great car..very sexy

[Bill Murphy]

Dave, you are proving how young you are. We fifties types know that a '54 Corvette was only available with a two speed Powerglide. I understand that the Powerglide platform is used for some serious racing, but I have no idea how they do it.

[Autumn Daze]

Wow, Your kidding right? You couldn,t get a standard trans in a 54 Corvette? I learned something new today thanks Bill..


Ok, Now I got it.I just googled the 54 Corvette. The 3 speed wasn,t available until late in 55 coupled to that monster 265..

[Labowner]

The slip and slide Power Glide.

[George Lander]

The biggest problem with the Jags of the 70's & 80's was the Lucas electronics. Once Ford bought the company the car was a lot more dependable although it lost a lot of it's styling IMO. Are the works at Coventry still in use?

[Big D]

Front end heavy? You don't know from front end heavy until you competed (as I did) in hill climbs against a guy who had put a 389 Pontiac into an Austin Healy. Radiator was mounted out front on the bumper brackets. What an abomination

[Dean Romig]

Lucas - HA!! As I recall, that's why the British enjoy warm beer.... they all own Lucas refrigerators

One of the only two cars I ever lost to with my GTO in my street racing days was a Chevy-Healy, a 327 'vette engine with the original Rochester fuel-injection setup. I don't know what he had for gears but as my 389 with trips was giving it all it had his taillights just kept getting closer and closer together....

[George Lander]

Didn't the Afrons Brothers put something like a Rolls Royce aircraft engine in a tiny little car? I subscribed to "Hot Rod" mag back in the 50's. I wish that I still had them.